The chances for this year’s full NHL season enters the final shift down a goal this week. Ironically, both sides are losing by a goal. The buzzer will ring on October 25, 2012. While significant gaps in demands for shares of revenue sharing preceded the owners’ lockout of NHL players September 15th, the NHL owners have stepped forward and proposed a 50-50 split of hockey related revenues and a full 82 game season beginning November 2nd.

Fans and commentators are wondering why it took so long to get to this point. Didn’t everyone know that 50-50 is where the two sides would settle all along? Hockey fans should start planning on watching hockey in 2012 now, right? Not so fast.

At first blush, a 50-50 split would seem fair to players. However, Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHL Players Association, wrote, “Simply put, the owners’ new proposal, while not as Draconian as their previous proposals, still represents enormous reductions in player salaries and individual contracting rights. As you will see, at 5 per cent industry growth rate the owners predict, the salary reduction over six years exceeds $1.6 billion. What do the owners offer in return?”

The players’ initial reaction to the owners’ proposal wasn’t encouraging. The NHL owners’ deadline to reach a new collective bargaining agreement and play a full 82 game schedule ends October 25th. So where are negotiations at right now?

The players made three counters proposals last week in Toronto, but all were summarily rejected by the owners within 15 minutes. The first two proposals involved asking for slightly higher revenue splits for players and phasing in a 50-50 split over a period of years. The third counter proposal was the most interesting and agreed to a 50-50 split of revenues going forward, however inserted a caveat that existing contracts would count only 87% against the cap, and 13% would be paid, but not count against the salary cap.

It should be noted that the NHL’s new offer allows NHL teams to spend to the “old” salary cap level in the 2012-12 season, approximately $70 million per team. In year two of the new CBA, the teams would be required to cap salaries at 50% of revenues. That year two cap would be approximately $63 million, assuming a 5% growth rate of hockey related revenues.

The main obstacle in reaching an agreement is the issue of already existing contracts. The players want existing contracts to be paid in full, while the owners want players’ share of revenue reduced immediately. From all reports on the negotiations, it appears that existing player contracts will be paid in full. However, unsigned players will have less of the revenue pie to obtain salary. This can essentially be seen as requesting a larger revenue share by the players. How much more is unknown, remember that teams can spend up to the 57% revenue share figure in the first year.

Who’s to blame in this mess? Fan’s venom toward the work stoppage has flowed both ways, with both players and owners maneuvering win the public relations battle, but remember this, the owners locked the players out and canceled games, while the players offered to play under the status quo.

What is infuriating to hockey fans is that the owners and players continue to argue over terms, despite being very close to reaching an agreement, while the hockey season is precariously close to slipping away. With 3.3 billion dollars in annual revenue, each percentage point of hockey related revenue equated to $33 million dollars. For weeks the players and owners argued over five percentage points of revenue splits. That’s $165 million dollars. The NHL claims to have lost $100 million just in the preseason, and losses of $240 million overall. Obvious to everyone but the NHL is that they’ve already lost more than they’re arguing over!

My personal solution – play the 2012-13 with a salary cap of $ $70 million. Both sides already agree on this. Play the season and negotiate an agreement on payment of existing contracts in full or with slight reduction with deferment, but play the games NOW!

Everyone loses if NHL games are not played this season. Owners lose ticket revenue, players lose salary, and both lose hockey fans which reduces hockey related revenue which is the measure of their payment. If it were possible, I believe the players should obtain this players’ option: “Should the NHL realize growth of revenues at the rate of 5% or greater on average over the term of this collective bargaining agreement, NHLPA shall have the option to extend this CBA for another term.” Since the owners have locked out the players in the last two labor disputes, this would protect the players from predatory negotiating tactics, not to mention the more important concern – the fans!

NCAA College Football Showdown Saturday did not disappoint as the weekend was full of quality match-ups, including a Top Ten battle in Gainesville. The No. 2-ranked Florida Gators proved they are worthy of their lofty BCS ranking clearly outplaying No. 7 South Carolina Gamecocks in a 44-11 victory. The Florida defense and special teams forced four Gamecock turnovers, three of which Gator QB Jeff Driskell turned into touchdown passes. Driskell, who continues to improve, threw for four touchdowns. Both Florida and SC played outstanding defense. The Gators managed just 183 total yards, becoming the first FBS team in history to score over 40 points without gaining 200 yards of total offense.

Alabama Crimsontide, ranked No. 1 in the BCS, had little trouble with Tennessee in a 44-13 win. Tide QB A.J. McCarron threw for a career-high 306 yards and four touchdowns. The vaunted ‘Bama defense gave up just 79 yards rushing to the Vols and held Tyler Bray, the highly touted Vols’ QB, to 184 yards on 13-of-27 passing and no touchdowns.

Prior to Saturday’s lineup feast, the No. 2 Oregon Ducks traveled to Arizona State and dismantled any hopes of an upset in the first 15 minutes of play en route to a 43-21 win over the Sun Devils. ASU scored on its first play, a 28-yard pass from Taylor Kelly to Kevin Ozier, to jump out to a 7-0 lead just 49 seconds into the game. The Ducks countered with a Kenjon Barner 71-yard run and two Marcus Mariota touchdown passes to take a 22-7 lead at the end of the first quarter. Barner would run for two more scores and Mariota, an 86-yard run, as the Ducks built a 43-7 halftime lead.

In somewhat of a surprise, head coach Bill Snyder’s No.4 Kansas State Wildcats went to Morgantown and made it look easy against Geno Smith and West Virginia as Wildcat QB Collin Klein accounted for seven touchdowns in a 55-14 thrashing of the No. 13 Mountaineers. Klein established himself as a legitimate Heisman favorite with a career-high 323 passing yards, completing 19-of-21 passes, three touchdowns, and added 41 yards on the ground and four scores.

No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish remained unbeaten fighting off a 14-7 halftime deficit to defeat Brigham Young, 17-14. The Irish rolled up 270 yards on the ground and George Atkinson III scored on a two-yard run early in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Running backs Theo Riddick (15 carries, 143 yards) and Cierre Wood (18-114) led the way for ND. Irish QB Tommy Rees, playing in place of the injured Everett Golson, completed six of his first seven passes, then only attempted three in the entire second half. Notre Dame’s defense limited BYU to just 66 yards on the ground.

After falling behind 12-0, No. 6 LSU scored 24 unanswered points and downed No. 18 Texas A&M, 24-19, in College Station. The Tigers started ugly but were able to gain some momentum going into the halftime break when Zach Mettenberger hit Kadron Boone with a 29-yard TD pass with 11 seconds to go to give LSU the lead for good at 14-12. Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M’s dynamic freshman QB, was held to just 27 yards rushing on 17 carries and was intercepted three times. LSU RB Jeremy Hill ran for a career-high 127 yards on 18 carries and scored once.

The surprising Oregon State Beavers, ranked No. 8 in last week’s BCS poll, took care of Pac-12 opponent, Utah, 21-7. OSU forced four Utah turnovers and Beavers’ RB Storm Woods rushed for three touchdowns. Oregon State is 6-0 and off to the school’s best start in 105 years after being picked to finish last in the Pac-12 North this preseason.

Oklahoma got ready for its showdown next weekend with Notre Dame by handing Kansas a 52-7 setback. The No. 9 Sooners were hardly challenged by coach Charlie Weis’ Jayhawks. Sooner QB Landry Jones threw for three touchdowns and Penn State transfer Justin Brown returned a punt 90 yards for a TD. OU has now won three consecutive games by at least three touchdowns.

It was a record-breaking day at USC Trojans as QB Matt Barkley threw three touchdown passes in the game’s first six minutes as the Trojans, BCS No. 10, beat Colorado, 50-6. Barkley’s second TD pass, a 39-yarder to Robert Woods, broke former Trojan QB Matt Leinart’s Pac-12 career touchdown passing mark. Barkley finished the day 19-of-20 for 298 yards and six touchdowns, giving him 102 TD passes for his career.

Seven weeks into the 2012 college football season, we finally have our first BCS rankings and, with that, it’s time to project the biggest bowl of them all…The Rose Bowl. This year’s Rose Bowl, to be played on January 1st as usual, will feature the traditional Big Ten/Pac-12 matchup. But, who will represent each conference? Sure, it may be too early to tell, but let’s take a look at the possibilities.

Big Ten
With Ohio State and Penn State out of the Big Ten championship and Rose Bowl pictures this year due to NCAA penalties, the Leaders Division is all Wisconsin’s. Surprisingly, both the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions are unbeaten in league play so far. Take away a poor half and a kicking debacle in week two and PSU might be unbeaten on the season as are the Buckeyes.

The Wisconson Badgers have five league games remaining, the toughest of which may very well be against Ohio State and Penn State. Regardless, the bottom three in the Leaders Division will most likely have at least three losses. Even if Wisconsin ends up with three league losses, they will hold the edge on Purdue and Illinois, and should beat Indiana in week 10.

Play in the Legends Division is much tougher with the Michigan Wolverines and Nebraska Cornhuskers the favorites, although Iowa is currently 2-0 in league play. Don’t forget Northwestern, which ripped off six straight wins to start the season and Michigan State, last year’s Big Ten champ. The way it pans out in the Legends Division, though, is up to the Wolverines and the Cornhuskers. Iowa must play both and also must face Penn State and Northwestern. That doesn’t make it easy for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Michigan and Nebraska play each other in two weeks, but the ‘Huskers have Northwestern, a team they lost to last year, Michigan State, Penn State, and Iowa. Michigan will face pretty much the same road to a division title and cap off the season with the year-end rivalry game at Ohio State.

Look for superior defense and the play of Denard Robinson to propel the Wolverines to the Legends Division championship and look for them to face Wisconsin for the Big Ten title.

Pac-12
The interesting thing with the Pac-12 is the Oregon Ducks. Currently the BCS No. 3 team, Coach Chip Kelly’s squad is projected to be playing in the national championship game and if current No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Florida win out, they will play each other in the SEC championship game. The loser is likely out of the BCS title game which would pave the way for…the Oregon Ducks, should they too win out.

Oregon still has USC and Stanford remaining on the schedule along with a Thursday night trip to Tempe, AZ, to take on a rejuvenated Arizona State team that is currently 5-1. And don’t forget the Civil War. Oregon must play in-state rival Oregon State, ranked eighth in the BCS, in Corvallis on Thanksgiving weekend.

Should Oregon head to the BCS title game, that leaves USC Trojans, Stanford Cardinals, and Oregon State. Todd Graham’s Sun Devils just won’t cut it this year as they head down the stretch. Of the three remaining teams, the Trojans will have the easiest road as their test will come Nov. 3rd when they face the Ducks. Even if USC loses to Oregon, which will be looking for payback for last year’s 38-35 loss, a two-loss Trojan team wins the South Division and the right to play in the Pac-12 championship. With Oregon winning the North, it’s either the Ducks going to the BCS title game or to the Rose Bowl. If Oregon plays for all the marbles, then USC steps in and represents the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl.

Rose Bowl Projection

Look for the teams with the easiest routes to get to Pasadena and for the Ducks to be playing for a national title… Wisconsin vs. USC

Going down to the Staples Center, LA Live or Nokia Theater in Los Angeles traffic can in itself be headache enough but finding an actual parking spot for your event can be as well. With 18000 people going to an event at the Staples Center and if there is a concert at Nokia on the same night can turn that headache into a migraine.

We highly recommend purchasing parking for your concert, sports or theater event when you purchase tickets for it but if not here are some options for parking at the Staples Center.

Valet Parking

The Luxe City Center Hotel offers Valet Parking which varies on price depending on the event that’s going on. The average price to valet is $20 – $30 to park and you can enter from Figueroa St. The Luxe is located at 1020 S. Figueroa, Los Angeles, CA 90015.

Note: If you’re just picking up tickets from Barry’s Tickets you can tell the Valet your just running in to pick up tickets.

The Staples Center also offers Valet Parking in the East Garage.

General Parking
The West Garage (Lot W) The Lot opens 3 ½ hours prior to event times, you can pay a flat rate from $10 to $30 which depends on the event you are seeing which you pay when you enter the lot off Chick Hearn Court.

The Staples Center itself has roughly over 3000 parking spaces which are at Staples Center owned parking lots. Only Lots 1 and C open 2 ½ hours prior to your event, all other Staples Center owned lots open 90 minutes prior to your event and the Staples Center staff remains in the Lots till 60 minutes after the event.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations near Staples Center Parking or LA Live Parking
Yes, there are several vehicle charging stations around that area. There are ten charging stations on Level 2 at the LA Live garage. There are six vehicle charging stations which are located at 1005 W. Chick Hearn Ct West Garage and another four charging stations located in the East Garage at 800 W. Olympic Blvd.

Disabled Parking

Around the Staples Center there is designated disability parking for van-accessible space, you can call Parking Services at (213) 765 – 6815 to find out more information.

No Parking as well as Tow Away Zones

Keep your eyes out for No Parking / Tow Away Zones as there are numerous areas around the Staples Center and LA Live Campus that are marked as No Parking or Tow Away Zones the main No Parking Zone is between Chick Hearn Court and Figueroa which is in between the Staples Center and LA Live. You will ticketed and or Towed Away.

UBER, Taxis, Buses and Limousine parking

UBER, Taxis, Buses and Limos must drop off passengers in designated areas around the Staples Center and LA Live which are located in on Figueroa St heading southbound between 11th street and 12th street as well as on Chick Hearn Ct heading east bound between LA Live Way and Georgia St. You can also check on the Staples Center website for updates to parking areas.

Want more information on the Staples Center itself feel free to checkout our Staples Center seating chart to view the different layouts of Concerts or Sporting events at the Staples Center. You can also get the Staples Center address or directions if you need them as well. You can also checkout 5 reasons

Then power balance arena is now called SLEEP TRAIN ARENA With that said, the Sacramento Kings found a new sponsor to buy the naming rights to their arena. Sleep Train Mattress Centers stepped up, and the Kings’ facility now will be called Sleep Train Arena. The team announced the multiyear deal Monday.

Let the jokes begin…the kings who have won only 33 percent of their games over the last 5 yrs will put their fans in a DEEP SLUMBER

And if your not ready for sleep before a kings game you will be after.

NEW YORK – Barbra Streisand was visiting the new Barclays Center and was happily singing to her Brooklyn roots. Thursday’s performance was at least three-hours and a signature move for returning to her hometown. The “Back to Brooklyn” tour will be coming up on Saturday.

Barbra is one of the music industry’s most successful performers — selling more than 140 million albums worldwide (71.5 million in the U.S. alone). The RIAA says that Streisand holds the sought-after record for the most top-ten albums by any female recording artist. She’s locked up a total of 31 top-ten albums since 1963. So obviously, coming home to Brooklyn is a pretty big deal.

Although Streisand is now 70 years old, that didn’t stop the 18,000+ crowd from showing up to see her in her flowing skirt and black blazer. She sang many of the classics, including “The Way We Were”, “Evergreen” and the very popular “People”. As she held the microphone with both hands to show that she still had the voice, the crowd went wild. At one point, she said “Hello Brooklyn,” and the crowd erupted.

To compliment the great vocal performance, Streisand told jokes and responded to the screams from the passionate audience. A video played on the big screen depicting people from Streisand’s neighborhood who discussed their experiences with the singer — pointing out her personality traits, talents, and even prominent body parts — particularly her nose.

She exclaimed “I left Brooklyn to pursue my dreams and Brooklyn never quite left me.” The legend of a singer wowed the audience and often carried on conversations or poked jokes at fans. The people laughed and seemed to have an incredible time cheering her on.

The light show was fantastic and the orchestral group played in a pit by the stage. As she strolled around the stage, the visuals of purple and blue lights adorned the stage and orchestra. Although Streisand is older now, she was performing both while sitting and standing, at times she would break to answer questions from fans who had submitted questions before the show. Apparently, the audience was curious about her thoughts on lip syncing. She replied, “I’ve heard about that. I could never do it because I’m so bad at it.”. The crowded laughed and overall it was a really great time.

It would seem that politics came into the picture a bit when she made a comment about “Big Bird” — referring to the Romney vs Obama battle.

Streisand was complimented by fellow trumpet player Chris Botti and her son Jason Gould. Jason at one point earned an ovation, with the crowd standing up on their feet. The ovation was greet by Jason’s mother saying “Oh my God”.

Barbra referenced Donna Summer by performing a song they sang together called “No More Tears”. She also gave a tribute to composer Marvin Hamlisch — her late friend by singing, “The Way We Were”.

One of the best moments of the night was when she referenced another Brooklyn artist, Jay-Z. She changed some of the lyrics of her song “You’re the Top” by saying Jay-Z lyrics like “You’re a Brooklyn Net, on a private jet”, which made some of the younger crowd quite enthused.

Thousands of fans watched the Mumford and Sons concert last August 14 at the LC Pavilion in Portsmouth. The venue for the concert was move to the parking lot outside the Pavillion for them to accommodate fans eager to watch the band perform turning it into a “festival” setting. A fence around the perimeter with beer stations everywhere and a burrito bus called Late Nite Slice. Also, a large screen was placed next to the main stage and another in the middle of the lot about halfway back. The black-and-white videography on those screens was great and the sound was robust.

The band opened the show with their song “Lover’s Eyes”. It was played with minimal instruments and when it came to the chorus part the music and harmonies sync with the lights flashing around the stage.

For their second song, the band played the “Little Lion Man” followed by “I Will Wait” their lead single from their new album. Mumford & Sons uses bluegrass and folk instrumentation complete with banjo picking and a stomping rhythm with a rhythmic style based in alternative rock and folk.

“Lover of the Light” a song from the band’s upcoming album “Babel,” is more aggressive than the tunes on “Sigh No More.” The crowd’s response was so intense when the choruses surged and the rhythm stomped. You can see the audience jumping and clapping a little longer than just a minute or so at the chorus due to the high-octane rock energy from the band.

The played some of their hit songs such as “Roll Away your stone”, “White blank page” and “Awake my Soul”. The encore began with the song “Where are you now?” followed by “Winter Winds’ and “The Cave” for the finale.

The English folk rock band Mumford and Sons consist of Marcus Mumford (vocals, guitar, drums, mandolin), Ben Lovett (vocals, keyboards, accordion, drums), “Country” Winston Marshall (vocals, banjo, dobro, guitar), and Ted Dwane (vocals, string bass, drums, guitar). The band is currently touring the US to promote their second album Babel due for release next month. The band’s debut album Sigh No More sold more than 2 million copies which earned them two Grammy nominations.